Home & Garden Products–Electrolux Ergo Rapido

This is the first of about half a dozen blog entries I’m going to post today because SO MUCH has happened in the past week! But first things first–I had a request from Aly for suggestions on how to best clean hardwood floors. I had several pieces of advice for her that I’ve opted not to post because I’m determined to keep this a controversy-free blog. But for those of you who know about Aly’s current circumstances, you can easily guess what my first suggestion would’ve been! Anyoo, moving along . . .

We had our hardwood floors refinished shortly after Keith and Sharon had theirs refinished. We both used Rick from the Burlington Hall. Rick recommended cleaning hardwood floors with a solution of water and vinegar. That’s it. I don’t remember exactly what ratios he recommended, but one website suggested 1/2 cup white vinegar for each gallon of warm water. Not only is it a very economical solution, but it keeps floors from becoming like a slip-and-slide (AKA Steve and Aly’s dining room!). As Sharon warned me, it’ll make your house smell like salad dressing for a bit. But the vinegar also kills odors as it dries so once the vinegar smell is gone, so are many other household odors as well. When I mop my floors I also have water spots left everywhere when the floors are dry. It doesn’t bother me all that much, but Sharon wipes them dry with a cloth. That keeps the spots from forming. I am a big fan of Swiffer Wet Jet, but not on hardwood. Here’s why–the current formulas cloud my hardwood floors, making them look dull. I even bought their formula that’s specifically for hardwood floors and I got the same results. So I figured I’d fill the Swiffer bottle with my own vinegar/water solution, but the bottle caps have teeth that lock them in place. I discovered that if you dip the cap into boiling water for a few seconds the plastic teeth soften enough for you to be able to remove the cap. But that’s such a pain to go through over and over again! Hopefully they’ll develop a better formula for hardwood floors–or maybe they already have and I just haven’t tried it yet.

My FAVORITE tool for cleaning hardwood floors is my Electrolux Ergo Rapido stick vacuum. Sharon (Queen of Clean) first discovered this vacuum several years ago and absolutely loved it. At that time it was going by a different name, but you may have seen them in the store–they were BRIGHT orange. I bought one a few weeks later and agreed that it was the greatest cleaning tool EVER. It worked amazingly well on my hardwood floors and low-pile carpeting. Unfortunately, after using it for a month it had already started to die on me. It didn’t matter how frequently I cleaned it or how often I charged it. I couldn’t believe that Electrolux had created such a crappy product. And I told them that. I wrote to the company and explained how meticulous I was about keeping the machine cleaned and how disappointed I was with their product. I COULDN’T believe it when they emailed me back saying they were sending me their improved model free of charge! Shortly after that I received my Electrolux Ergo Rapido in the mail. It . . . is . . . awesome. I need a vacuum that’s super-handy because our floors and rugs are constantly covered in cracker crumbs and hair. I shed like a huskie in the summertime and it’s disgusting. If I don’t vacuum AT LEAST once a day, all of Jack’s toys have hair stuck to them. And if he picks a cracker up off the floor, it too will be covered in hair. But if I only used your typical heavy, upright Sears vacuum I know I wouldn’t have the willpower to vacuum more than once a week. So a product like Ergo Rapido is exactly what I need. Granted, since I lose so much hair I have to clean out the vacuum brush once a week, which requires a pair of scissors since my hair is so long that it tangles itself tightly around the vacuum brush. But it’s a minor inconvenience in the whole scheme of things. I’m going to be totally honest with you–I don’t think the Ergo Rapido is a good long-term investment. The one I got for free from Electrolux probably lasted me a year before it stopped cleaning well. I just purchased a new Ergo Rapido so we’ll see how long this one lasts. The new version is even more powerful than the previous one I had so I’m even happier with it. I bought it off drugstore.com (I know! I couldn’t believe they sold vacuums!) for about $100. Shipping was free since my order was over $50. Next year I’ll probably have to buy a new one. Or maybe the year after. So it’s not exactly economical. But it’s CONVENIENT. I don’t have to sweep and the only places I have to dry mop are ones that I can’t reach with the vacuum (like under the entertainment center). It REALLY cuts down on the number of times you have to actually wash the hardwood floors, whether with a Swiffer or a mop. So Aly, I hope that helps! I would LOVE to be able to bring Jack over your house someday without worrying that he will slip and fall on your floors, so at the very least switch to a water/vinegar cleaning solution. And may I also recommend a very–um, thorough house cleaning!